Medical Bulletin 02/February/2024

Here are the top medical news of the day:

Knowing about rapid weight loss in older women, what does the heart say

Unexplained rapid weight loss in older people could be a sign of underlying disease and can be linked with increased risk of falls and fractures, as well as a poorer long-term prognosis. The understanding of factors that could contribute to rapid weight loss remains poor, with current treatments including correcting suboptimal dietary and physical activity behaviors.

New research by Edith Cowan University (ECU) Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr Cassandra Smith noted that abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), a marker of advanced blood vessel disease, was linked to higher risk of rapid weight loss in the 929 older women who participated in the study.

Reference: Understanding rapid weight loss in older women: Message from the heart; Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; DOI:10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.320118

Choice of skin disinfectant by surgeons impacts infection risk, says a Canadian-American study

Does the type of solution used by surgeons to disinfect skin before surgery impact the risk of surgical site infection? According to new research from an international trial jointly led by McMaster University and the University of Maryland School of Medicine – yes, it does.

Researchers of the PREPARE trial, which enrolled nearly 8,500 participants at 25 hospitals in Canada and the United States, found the use of iodine povacrylex in alcohol to disinfect a patient’s skin could prevent surgical site infection in thousands of patients undergoing surgery for a closed fracture each year.

The findings, published on Feb. 1, 2024 in The New England Journal of Medicine, are poised to have many hospitals consider a policy change to use of iodine povacrylex in alcohol for fracture surgeries.

Reference: Surgeons’ choice of skin disinfectant impacts infection risk, Canadian-American study shows; New England Journal of Medicine; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2307679

How old is Dementia, Did it exist in ancient Greece and Rome?

You might think age-related dementia has been with us all along, stretching back to the ancient world.

But a new analysis of classical Greek and Roman medical texts suggests that severe memory loss — occurring at epidemic levels today — was extremely rare 2,000 to 2,500 years ago, in the time of Aristotle, Galen and Pliny the Elder.

The USC-led research, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, bolsters the idea that Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are diseases of modern environments and lifestyles, with sedentary behavior and exposure to air pollution largely to blame.

Reference: Did dementia exist in ancient Greece and Rome?; Journal of Alzheimer's Disease; DOI:10.3233/JAD-230993